Liebherr unveils world's first battery-powered crawler cranes and more new machines

Liebherr has unveiled three brand-new machines for deep foundation work, material handling and lifting, including the world's first battery-powered crawler cranes. 

The LR 1200.1 unplugged and the LR 1250.1 unplugged are the world's first battery-powered crawler cranes. Both are driven by electric engines with a system performance of 255 kW. The LR 1200.1 unplugged has a maximum lifting capacity of 200 tonnes and the LR 1250.1 lifts 250 tonnes.

The cranes can be recharged on a conventional jobsite electric supply in 4.5 hours or with 125 A in 2.5 hours. The capacity of the battery is designed for four hours lifting operation. In accordance with their name, the cranes can be operated without a cable, thus "unplugged" thanks to the battery-electric drive design. 

"Especially the year 2020 has shown that one must be open-minded and bold to break new ground. With our unplugged cranes we offer our customers an alternative drive design. As we have already seen with the LB 16 unplugged, the first battery-powered drilling rig, the strategy is a complete success. Strict requirements regarding environmental sustainability in tenders for construction projects increase the demand for advanced technologies. For us, it was clear that we extend and successfully establish the design in further product groups," said Gerhard Frainer, Managing Director for Sales at Liebherr.

The LRB 23 compact piling and drilling rig closes the gap between the LRB 16 and the LRB 355.
The new machine for deep foundation work offers an engine output of 600 kW and delivers the necessary capacity for all common deep foundation work, such as drilling with a Kelly drill, a double rotary drill, full displacement equipment, a continuous flight auger, as well as soil mixing and applications with a vibrator or hydraulic hammer. 

Locking of the Kelly bar's telescopic sections is made significantly easier with the aid of the Kelly visualization system. Thanks to the real time display of the Kelly bar's locking recesses on the cabin monitor, the operator is always informed about the actual distance to the next locking recess. Colour indications inform the operator of when the bar can be locked. Furthermore, false positioning of the Kelly bar during the shake-off process is indicated through a warning signal.

With the brand new HS 8070.1, Liebherr unveils the newest generation of duty cycle crawler cranes. The machine has a lifting capacity of 70 tonnes and is ideal for a multitude of applications including material handling, deep foundation work or lifting work. 

Using the new self-loading system, the crawlers can be easily disassembled for transportation, reducing the transport weight to less than 35 tonnes.

Instead of a single counterweight, the machine now has a modular system. The duty cycle crawler crane can be individually equipped depending on the application. The boom of the HS 8070.1 is compatible with the HS 8100.1 allowing customers to use attachments on both machines.

Compared to the fixed system, the new floating A-frame system ensures higher performance in dynamic applications. It also simplifies and speeds up the assembly and transportation of the machine. The user-friendly design extends to the tank neck, which is easily accessible via a platform on the uppercarriage.